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Facebook Bug Prevented Users From Deleting Their Accounts (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the happens-every-single-time dept.

Emil Protalinski, reporting for VentureBeat: Until just a few days ago, some Facebook users could not delete their accounts -- the option to do so simply didn't work. After VentureBeat reached out to Facebook regarding the issue, an engineer was able to squash the bug.

Two weeks ago, I got an email from a VentureBeat reader who couldn't delete his Facebook account. He claimed there were others also having issues -- no matter what they tried, they simply could not delete Facebook. I didn't believe him at first. [...] I did my due diligence. The least I could do was help him delete his account. Upon request, the reader was gracious enough to let me log into his Facebook account so I could see for myself. No matter what I tried, and regardless of which browser I used, the Facebook help page for deleting your account would not load when logged into his account. The reporter contacted a Facebook spokesperson, who after looking into the matter concluded that a bug prevented some people with "a large number of posts" from deleting their accounts. Facebook says it has resolved the issue.

18 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Don't you mean... by ChodaBoyUSA · · Score: 3, Interesting

    So called "bug"?

    1. Re:Don't you mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That was not a bug...that was a feature! I have read many times from different sources that even if you delete your Fakebook account, your data is not deleted, but continues to be sold to whomever will pay. Fakebook even attempts to collect data on people who are not signed up for a Fakebook account.

    2. Re:Don't you mean... by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      There was a bug, just not the bug you are looking for, heh, heh. The bug was of course letting you see what was really going on. Delete your account, yeah sure, account not deleted because shh, it never is. So delete your account, yeah sure, access to your account denied to you and from your perspective deleted but of course still entirely intact, just not accessible by you. That was of course the bug, account still not deleted but the forget to make it inaccessible to outside users. Still alive and well and still mining your privacy.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re:Don't you mean... by rtb61 · · Score: 1

      PS forgot to add this in, prior to deleting a social media account, contaminate it by putting in false data, everywhere you can and then deleting it or in reality make it inaccessible by you.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  2. "Delete" by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Nobody "deletes" anyway ... disk space is way cheaper than data loss.

    UPDATE users SET deletedflag = 1

    Whether that works or not, your records are still there ...

    1. Re:"Delete" by sycodon · · Score: 1

      Gawd...I'd love to run that on their DBs

      it would all be over in mere minutes.

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
    2. Re:"Delete" by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Truth. Even if something is deleted, it's still in the backups, and the big boys never delete backups.

    3. Re:"Delete" by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Funny
      Try logging in with the password:

      '; UPDATE users SET deletedflag = 1; --

      and let us know what happens.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    4. Re:"Delete" by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      Little Bobby Tables, is that you?

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  3. Bug? by Zorro · · Score: 2

    You mean FEATURE!

    1. Re:Bug? by Desler · · Score: 2

      The bug is that someone noticed that nothing was being deleted.

  4. Wikipedia dosen't delete accounts either by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    You can only get renamed and locked under right to vanish. (but Checkuser can unmask you). I am a former contributor who still gets harassed by admins from Wikipedia due to my POV.

  5. How adorable, he thought it was a 'bug'! by Rick+Schumann · · Score: 2

    It's Zuckerbook, fooling you into believing your account is 'deleted' when it's not is a FEATURE not a BUG, that way Zuckerbook can keep your data and continue to make more money off it.

  6. Was that a bug or a feature? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 2

    Given Facebook's behavior to date, I'd say it loos more like an intended feature. That it affected only a subset of people, well, that's the bug.

  7. Yes, I'm being sarcastic. by Desler · · Score: 1

    The Zuck is the most trustworthy person to ever live.

  8. Call FaceBook technical support by MobyDisk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The real take-away here is that lots of people are relying on products for which there is no technical support. Bear that in mind next time you rely upon an advertising-supported service.

  9. Yeah... a bug. by Hallux-F-Sinister · · Score: 2

    Sure. A bug. Yeah. Oops. Totally an entirely not at all on-purpose, completely innocent accident that just... so... HAPPENS to be of benefit to Facebook and the detriment of a would-be ex-user.

    Total coincidence. Sure. Not incompetence or deliberate action. Nooo... it woul not , COULD not be that.

    --
    Our reign has gone on long enough. Indeed. Summon the meteors.
  10. Bugs are your friends by CustomSolvers2 · · Score: 1

    Something like "It has a bug" can be used to describe virtually any programming-related problem like when the given piece of software:
    - doesn't deliver the expected results under very specific conditions.
    - completely ignores a relevant use case.
    - breaks for no clear reason.
    - has a somehow shady feature.
    - has been hacked in the most public and shameful way.

    A bug might be provoked by a punctual mistake only affecting a small part of the functionalities or by a horrendous code not meeting the most basic quality standards. It might also be the go-to expression of a C-level manager not knowing too well what is going on or the main idea of the PR announcement trying to justify whatever catastrophe.

    I propose to start using this magical work in other contexts. Some examples: "I don't have my homework because of a bug", "I will be a bit late today because we are dealing with a huge bug in the office" or "It isn't you, it is a bug.". LOL.

    --
    Custom Solvers 2.0 = Alvaro Carballo Garcia = varocarbas.